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Marah oregana
Also called Oregon Bigroot, Bigroot, Coast Manroot, Manroot, Western Wild Cucumber, Western Wildcucumber
A climbing perennial vine with a huge underground tuber, native to the Pacific Northwest coast. Grow it in moist soil, where it thrives by streams, and give it a sturdy support to climb.
Marah oregana, the Oregon manroot, coastal manroot or western wild-cucumber, is a common manroot of the northwest coast of the United States. It ranges from California north to Vancouver Island in southwestern Canada.
The leaves and fruit contain high concentrations of tetracyclic triterpenoid compounds known as cucurbitacins. They impart a bitter flavor which serve as a natural pest deterrent. When ingested they can lead to various degrees of gastrointestinal upset and dehydration. Although data for this specific variety of wild cucumber is limited, case reports of ingestion of other species within the Cucurbitaceae family have been found to induce severe illness requiring intensive care support to treat dehydration from the profound gastrointestinal distress. There is no specific antidote.
These compounds have also been reported to induce delayed alopecia although the mechanism is unknown.
Coastal manroot grows most vigorously by streams or in washes but can also be successful in dryer areas, at elevations up to 1600 metres. It will tolerate a variety of soil types and acidities, but it requires at least seasonally moist soil. Vines can grow in full-sun to heavily shaded conditions. In mild areas of its range where year-round moisture is available, vines are perennial. In cold winter areas, vines die back in fall. In areas with seasonal wetness, vines emerge at the beginning of the wet season and die back completely in the dry season.
All parts of the plant have a bitter taste (this is the meaning of the genus name Marah, which comes from Hebrew). The fruit is inedible. Some Native Americans may have consumed the seeds to commit suicide. The large tuber of the manroot can be processed for a soap-like extract.
California Manroot · Gila manroot · Sierra Manroot · Cucamonga Manroot · Taw manroot · Manroot
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Marah oregana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
